USS Daniel Inouye (DDG-118) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is named to honor former United States Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii. Inouye was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Tuscany, Italy, during World War II. She is part of Destroyer Squadron 31 of Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific.
USS Daniel Inouye
Daniel Ken Inouye was an American attorney, soldier, and politician who served as a United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. Beginning in 1959, he was the first U.S. Representative for the State of Hawaii, and a Medal of Honor recipient. A member of the Democratic Party, he also served as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate from 2010 until his death. Inouye was the highest-ranking Asian-American politician in U.S. history until Kamala Harris became vice president in 2021. Inouye also chaired various senate committees, including those on Intelligence, Indian Affairs, Commerce, and Appropriations.
Official portrait, 2008
Inouye as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army
Inouye (left) with his friend and future fellow senator Bob Dole (next to Inouye), playing cards while recovering at Percy Jones Army Hospital.
Inouye with President John F. Kennedy in 1962